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Firstly, congratulations to UK-Nomad on a first class guide to what is clearly cost effective solution to an expensive problem.
After reading his post I undertook this work myself, but was wary of splitting the lens from the rear of the unit. Instead I decided to try and do it by just cutting out the back of the light unit where I imagined the circuit board to be. Using a Dremel I made a couple of trial cuts to work out where the board sat and then cut around it.
Once I'd exposed the board, I cut the blue and brown wires to remove the unit. I'd ordered a pack of 10 x 5mm Ultrabright LED's from eBay (led-essential) for under two quid. I don't work for them but I will say that they were really helpful in identifying the best ones for the job and would recommend them.
I unsoldered and removed the old LED's (including the working one - I wanted a consistent light), and refitted new ones on the original nylon blocks. My soldering skills are poor, but I found if you put the pins through the board and bent them at 45 degrees in opposite directions (see picture) they stayed in place while you solder them. Snipped off the long tails and tested with a 9v battery. The original LED's are white but glow red. Replacements are white and glow white, so I painted them with red acrylic.
Put back in tail light and siliconed all bits together. To be honest, they are slightly dimmer than originals but at least I won't be pulled over for two bars out. MOT in November - I'll let you know if any problems!
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